The East Village
by Lauren Henry
Summary: Come and read about how The East Village was founded and follow the adventures of characters from other villages that you know including the mysterious Ringo.
1. Chapter 1

**The East Village One**

If you have been reading my stories you will know that the East shore of the Island has been explored by villagers from the Attawa village. Jero, Goro and the others who went there found shells of huts and one hut still standing but badly in need of repair. There was a fire-pit that was used when they went there. There was an old well that still had good water. Jero and Goro went back a third time. They stayed in the abandoned East village for a week. They made more discoveries during that week. They found a large berry bush on the edge of the jungle. They ate some of the berries and found them quite delicious. They found an abundance of fish, crabs, and other shellfish in the ocean off the East beach. They found plenty of edible herbs and roots and there was even room for a small garden. When Jero and Goro finally went back home to the Attawa village they told their fellow villagers about the East village. Some of their fellow villagers there as well as some of the villagers from the Arawak village on the southern shore decided to form an explorers group. They got together and had several meetings about forming an expedition to go to the East village as well as eventually exploring the rest of the island.

The East village was built by a tribe of people from a far away island. The only survivor of this village was a man named Ringo. His people died from a virulent virus when he was ten years old. He grew up alone. Ringo had been a clever child. He learned how to gather herbs, roots and other sources of food by age ten. He knew how to fish and build a fire. In his tribe parents taught their children as soon as they could walk and talk how to do these things. His people were mysterious and possessed the secret to the fountain of youth. Most of them were over two hundred years old. Unfortunately this did not save them from succumbing to the terrible virus that caused all of them to suffer high fevers. They could not find a cure in time and all of them died except for Ringo who was somehow immune to the virus.

Ringo left his village when he was fourteen to explore the rest of the Island. He observed all of the species of wildlife. He liked the monkeys best of all. He even made friends with some of them. Ringo went back to his village from time to time. But never lived there again. He found other places on that he preferred such as the caves. He knew the location of every one of them and used them frequently. He watched the other people who came to the Island but remained hidden from them. The only one that ever knew him well was the little boy named Gin from the South village who had died so tragically. Ringo came in to contact with other villagers but he never again made an effort to become friends with them. He spoke a different language. Now that there were groups of villagers exploring the island it was going to be more difficult to remain hidden.

One day during the dry season of the year 1494 a group of villagers from the West and South villages departed on an expedition to the East village. There were two large canoes full of people. Both men and women. There were three couples from the south village and two couples from the west village and their children; which consisted of seven young children ages three to nine and four teens, two boys and two girls ages fourteen through seventeen. They were going to do more than just visit the East village. It had already been explored and deemed livable. They planned on living in there and rebuilding it. After that was accomplished some of the men and teen boys planned to explore the other parts of the Island that had been discovered by Jero, Goro, Elan and the others.

The canoe trip to the East shore went well. It was actually a short distance by sea. They departed from the South shore and paddled out to sea where the tides would not pull them back in. They traveled the short distance to the sea beyond the Eastern shore and paddled successfully in to the beach. They carried supplies with them donated from both villages. Cooking pots, dishes and utensils, water jugs and large bowls, dried and fresh fruits, several loaves of bread made from yams, seeds, seedlings, seed potatoes, sewing supplies, first aid supplies, straw mats and woven sleeping hammocks and many other things that would be of use. The group found the East village just as Jero and Goro had left it.

One of the designated leaders of this village was a forty year old father of four named Tanak. He walked around the abandoned village with Kumi the second leader. The other villagers stood quietly on the beach by the canoes and waited for the two men to return before taking any action. Tanak was quite happy with what he observed as he walked the perimeter of the village. He saw in his minds eye the future appearance of this village which would be the home of a combined tribe of people from both villages.

Tanak and Kumi returned to the others. Tanak announced, "This will be a great haven for us once it is rebuilt; a place to be proud of."

His wife Sanje hugged him and told him how happy she was. Everyone began to unload the canoes at this point. Once the canoes were unloaded and pulled ashore, the women put the children to work picking up dry grass and wood to make a fire. The teen boys and men went fishing. The women cleaned the fire pit and its surrounding area. They gathered herbs and roots and began to set out utensils for cooking. The most important thing was to prepare food and get big pot of stew cooking.

After the children gathered fire supplies they began to hunt for mushrooms. They discovered the large berry bush and tasted the berries. Three of the young girls named Tehya, Kissa and Amina brought their mothers a handful of the berries. Tehya's mother Zuna suggested that they take a large bowl and gather some more for the meal. The girls took the bowl and ran skipping back to the berry bush giggling all the way. The first day was spent cleaning and finding spots to store supplies. Water was drawn from the well. The one thing missing was a lagoon or stream to bathe in. The villagers were going to have to get used to taking bird baths (bathing with well water from a basin).

On the second day the men went searching for wood to build huts. They used the jungle path that led to the stone wall. They found some large trees in that area. They began to cut them down. It took them a few months to build five sturdy huts. Everything went well. They were in the dry season of their climate. The nights and mornings were cool and the days ranged from warm to blazing hot.

The ocean offered relief from the heat. The young children waded. The adults and teens swam frequently. By the time the rainy season arrived the village was thriving. The huts were all built including one which was used for multipurpose. It was a communal hut and was used for meetings of the leaders and for gatherings of the women for sewing, weaving, clay modeling and other purposes. It was equipped with a fire pit, hammocks and straw beds in the event of visitors, or for sick people to be nursed away from the regular sleeping huts.

The village healer was Kayla, a thirty year old mother of two eight-year old fraternal twins Mazi and Mali. Kayla was teaching two teen apprentice healers, a boy Kuruk and a girl Tonga. So far everyone had been healthy and suffered no serious illnesses. Kumi had chosen an area to be used for a graveyard. The villagers dug a small garden. Some crops had already gone through their growing process, had been harvested and stored, while others that thrived during wet weather had been planted in their place. The village had not been given a name as yet. They just thought of it as the East village. Discussions had been held but most could not agree on a name. That was yet to come.

After the rainy season was over Kumi planned to lead a group to travel north on the stone wall and explore the north shore. The villagers tried to keep busy during the rainy season but boredom sometimes set in. The mated couples had time on their hands. As a result once the rainy season was through three of the five mated women were with child. In seven months time there would be new babies born.


	2. Chapter 2

**The East Villager List:**

Leader Tanak age 40

His mate Sanje age 37(expectant mother)

Children: Nishi(female)age 16, Tonga(female) age 14, Kissa(female) age 9, Leiko(male) age 4

Co-leader Kumi age 38

His mate Zuna age 38

Children: Pawin(male) 14, Tehya(female) 9

Anoki age 30

His mate Kayla age 30(village healer)

Children: 8 year old fraternal twins Mali(female) and Mazi(male)

Kayak age 38

His mate Fatai age 37(expectant mother)

Children: Kuruk(male) age 17, Etini(male) age 3

Malik age 30

His mate Ginger age 30(expectant mother)

Children: Amina(female) age 9

After December 1494 new members:

From the West village:

Goro age 22

His mate Leia age 22

Children: Amiri(male) age 1

Elan age 30

His mate Kifa age 24

Children: Nuru(male) age 6 months

From Guanahani Island former Taino Tribe members:

Ponui age 25

His mate Zara age 22

Children: Uno(male) age 2

**The East Village Two**

By November of that year the rainy season was over. The re-built East village had come through the hurricane season well. Very little damage was done. Once the minor repairs to the huts were finished the second village leader Kumi prepared to lead a group of men and the two teen boys in to the jungle. One of the teen boys was his oldest son Pawin. The others were Kayak and his son Kuruk and another villager Anoki. Kayak had been one of the villagers from the Attawa village on the West shore that searched for Jero and Goro when they were taken captive by the mysterious Ringo.

The fishing was usually done by the men and boys although the teen girls helped out with this sometimes. Once the men left to go on their expedition in to the jungle only Tanak and another man Malik would remain to guard the women and children. The teen girls were Tonga and Nishi, both daughters of Tanak and Sanje. They would take over some of the men's chores with the help of the other village mothers who were not expecting babies. This was their mother and Kumi's mate Zuna and the village healer and mate of Anoki, Kayla.

The three village mothers-to-be were Sanje mate of Tanak, Fatai mate of Kayak and Ginger mate of Malik. They were all in their fifth month of pregnancy. They did what they could to help out with daily chores. They were still able to do light chores like gathering herbs, planting seeds, picking berries, cooking, weaving, sewing and making pottery. This left Kayla and Zuna to handle the harder chores like chopping wood, digging roots, carrying water and picking and harvesting the crops.

Once the babies were born in March 1495 the new mother's main pastime would be nursing their babies. They would not be able to handle many chores until their babies were two years old. With the help of the oldest children they would sometimes be able to help with sewing and weaving.

The oldest children were three 9 year old girls, Tehya daughter of Zuna and Kumi, Kissa daughter of Sanje and Tanak and Amina daughter of Ginger and Malik. The three girls would help look after the babies when their mothers were not nursing them. The other children were Anoki and Kayla's 8 year old fraternal twins Mazi and Mali, the two youngest children Leiko age 4 son of Tanak and Sanje and Etini age 3 son of Kumi and Zuna.

Kumi and the others departed on the jungle path in the middle of November. They were still gone two weeks later. The others were beginning to worry when the month of December came and they had not returned. Tanak called a meeting to form a search party. The villagers had just gathered around the fire pit after the morning meal when they saw a large canoe approaching the beach. Six adults and some children were in the canoe. Everyone ran to greet them.

It was Goro with his mate Leia, their 1 year old son Amiri and Elan with his mate Kifa and their 6 mo old son Nuru. Also from Guanahani Island former Taino Tribe members Ponui, his mate Zara and their 2 year old son Uno. The visitors were welcomed and given refreshment. They brought some sad news of Dohate's death from old age. Some good news was that Jero and Cheop were chosen as co-leaders of the Attawa tribe. Then Elan and Goro asked Tanak's permission to stay a fortnight. He gladly gave it. The visitors learned that day of the village's concern over the missing co-leader and his group of explorers.

By evening the visitors had settled in and were given places to stay in the communal hut. They unloaded their clothes and other supplies from their canoe. Discussions went on during the evening meal. Elan and Goro volunteered to go along with the search party the next day.


	3. Chapter 3

**The East Village Three**

Leia was happy to be in the East village. The village women had given her and her baby son a very warm welcome. They were friendly. They were very eager to hear news from her and the other women about their villages and gossip about people that they had not seen in months.

Leia and Goro waited until Amiri was a year old before leaving the West village. When Dohate died they knew that it was definitely time to go. Goro and Jero were good friends, but Leia and Huka would never be friends. They just tolerated one another's presence and spent as little time together as possible. Huka may have forgiven Leia for what she did in the past but she would never forget. The villagers in the West village loved Huka. Now that Jero was one of the village leaders Huka was more admired than ever. Leia was accepted only because she had become Goro's life mate and reformed her evil ways. She was a devoted mother and spent all of her time looking after Amiri. But there were still people in that village who would never like Leia.

Amiri was Jero's son. Jero showed very little interest in Amiri. He had a new daughter. A beautiful little girl named Gem. He carried her around every chance he got. What a proud father he was. Even though Leia and Goro had decided that Amiri would be raised to think of Goro as his father, it was still hard for Leia to bear. Seeing that Jero paid so much attention to his daughter and first son Tiponi.

Leia had changed and truly loved Goro. But she still felt a bit jealous of the attention that Jero and Huka and their children got in the West village. Now that Jero was one of the leaders it was even worse. Because of this Leia and Goro thought it best to make a new start by leaving. The East village was a natural choice. Goro thought that it would make a decent home for them. Amiri would be able to grow up happily without someone gossiping about who his real father was every time he passed by. Some of the East villagers knew of these events in Leia's past but it was not looked upon as important in the new village where everyone was starting a new life together.

The next morning after the meal Tanak, Malik, Elan and Goro kissed their women and children and set out on the jungle path to search for the missing men and boys. Ponui remained behind. The men followed the jungle path to the wall. They helped one another climb up and headed north. This is the way that Kumi had said he and the others would go before they left a few weeks before. They wanted to explore the North shore with the cliff, sea caves and the mysterious stone idol. The four men walked steadily for an hour. They stopped to rest and took a drink of water. All around them was jungle. They were level with the tops of the tallest trees.

The wall was at least thirty feet high. They could see the clear blue sky above them. They could hear monkeys, birds and other sounds comings from the dark jungle. They had to step over many vines that were growing over the stone platform atop the wall. The side of the wall that faced the West was as smooth as glass. It was obvious that whoever built this wall constructed it so that no one could climb down on the west side. Well perhaps a man could with ropes. But it would still be risky. Elan and Goro brought ropes with them this time. Each man carried a coil of rope over one shoulder. They had learned from past experience that ropes could definitely come in handy. No man in the past excursions had thought to bring them.

The men continued after resting a bit. They had to be even more careful because there were many cracks in the stone platform. Some of them were wide. Many of these were vine covered. The men in the front, Tanak and Elan used their spears to probe the vines. This is how they prevented a fall by finding the gaps and warning the others. They walked for three more hours. Then sat down to rest once again.

Elan had exceptional hearing. He heard a rustling noise in the jungle. It sounded like someone or something large moving toward them. The jungle was so thick and dark. It was difficult to see anything from this vantage point. The other men could hear it too. They discussed what it could be. The noise stopped suddenly. They got up and began to walk again. Then Elan noticed that the sound seemed to be going along side of the wall. When they moved the rustling below moved with them. As though someone or something were shadowing them.

It gave all of them the creeps. It was unnerving. Whatever was below could not reach them. It was far below on the west side where the wall was smooth. Tanak stopped and the others stopped.

He turned in the direction of the rustling and called out in a loud voice, "Who are you?"

The rustling stopped. No one answered his call.

He called out again, "I say who are you?" "Show yourself!"

Once again no one answered. Tanak began to walk again; the others followed. The noise started again immediately.

Tanak stopped once more sighed, turned around to face the others and said, "Let us not concern ourselves now." "When we reach the end of the wall we may encounter whatever it is." "Until then we must keep moving and keep in mind that we are looking for our friends and loved ones." "Keep your spears handy when we get to the end."


	4. Chapter 4

**The East Village Four**

Tanak, Elan and the others reached the end of the stone wall and climbed down cautiously. They were expecting someone or something to jump out at them as soon as they reached the ground for the noises had continued to follow them. Tanak was the first to step on to the beach next to the bay. He stopped and turned to look in all directions seeing nothing at first. Then suddenly a tall man burst from the jungle towards the west.

Elan and Goro recognized Ringo. They raised their spears in readiness. As Ringo approached them they noticed that he did not seem to be acting hostile.

Tanak shouted, "You there, stop where you are!" "First tell us what you want."

Ringo stood still and said nothing in return.

Elan said, "Tanak, he doesn't understand you because he speaks another language."

Ringo's expression looked as though he understood. He was about 5 feet away. He looked at Elan and Goro and a look of recognition appeared on his hairy face. Something akin to a smile turned his mouth up at the corners.

Ringo turned and pointed towards the bay and said, "P l e e s e f o l l o w."

Elan was amazed, "He speaks our language now, but how?"

Goro exclaimed, "There is no way I am going anywhere with him." "He is not to be trusted."

Ringo looked at them with a pleading expression and once again pointed to the bay and said, "C o m e."

Tanak said, "I think that he is trying to tell us something important." "Perhaps we should do as he asks."

Tanak walked towards Ringo and motioned with his hands for Ringo to lead the way. Tanak began to follow Ringo. The others fell behind him. Goro shook his head negatively but took a place in the rear of the group.

Ringo waded in to the bay and began swimming towards the other side. Everyone else did the same. They made it across easily and stepped on to a rocky beach. In front of them was a tall cliff with a cave underneath. Ringo walked towards the cave. The group followed him. It was very dark in the mouth but as they moved farther inside they saw a small fire burning in the distance. As they moved closer to it they saw prostrate forms of men on the cave floor.

One of the men rolled over at the noise of footsteps. It was Kumi!

Kumi spoke in a weak voice as Tanak kneeled next to him, "Thank the Gods you have come." "I had almost given up hope." "We have had much misfortune."

While Kumi was speaking to Tanak, Malik, Goro , Elan and the others walked around the prostrate forms checking on their condition. The healthiest was young Kuruk son of Kayak. He kneeled near his father tending to him. All of the original party were present but most of them had suffered injuries and were very ill. Kuruk had some healing skills learned from Kayla the village healer. Kayla's mate Anoki knew a little healing but he had been badly injured and suffered from a fever. Kuruk had done his best to doctor the others. He lacked fresh water which was needed. Somehow they had survived for almost 3 weeks with little fresh water. They washed with salt water and rationed the tepid water in their water jugs for drinking. Just this day they were running out of that.

Tanak listened to Kumi's sad tale and then told him to rest quietly for a bit. The most important thing was to get some water and food in to these sick men and boys. Tanak gave orders to the others to gather more wood for the fire. He asked some of them to go fishing. He took one of the full water jugs that he had brought with him and gave each patient a long drink.

Ringo stood watching everyone and then suddenly left. No one noticed that he was gone. He returned 3 hours later carrying two large bladders full of water. He also carried bananas and berries in a sack. On closer inspection Elan noticed that Ringo had a long deep cut on his arm that was crusted and scabbed. Elan approached him and tried to look at the cut. Ringo backed away and would not let Elan get closer to him. Ringo kept his distance but watched as the food and water that he brought was passed around. Then smiling slightly he left the cave.

The sick men felt better after they had eaten fresh fish and fruit and had drank their fill of water. Ringo did not return. Night was falling and everyone gathered closer to the fire. The cave seemed to be safe and secure but drafty. Some of the sick still suffered from fevers. Elan, Kuruk and Tanak did their best to make them more comfortable. When everyone had settled down Tanak decided that it was time for everyone to hear what had happened to these men and boys during the last weeks.


	5. Chapter 5

**The East Village Five (Kumi's sad tale)**

Everyone was relaxed (the injured as much as they could be) around the fire. Kumi was injured too. He sat hunkered over cross legged resting his hands on his knees. Conversations were going on all around.

Tanak ordered, "Quiet now everyone." "I have asked Kumi to tell us what transpired in the past weeks."

Kumi took a deep breath and then let out a sigh, "We had no problems traveling towards the North on the stone wall." "We heard rustling noises coming from the jungle below to the West of us." "I called out, "Who's there?", but no one answered." "We decided to ignore the noise after awhile and just keep walking." "We took a few short rest periods and reached the end of the wall after four hours."

"We stepped on to the beach next to the bay." "We could see a cliff on the other side." "No one followed us from the jungle." "The rustling sounds had subsided before we reached the end of the wall." "We were all feeling hot and irritable and could hardly wait to dive in to that cool water." "The water felt refreshing after our long walk." "We swam to the other side and waded onto the stony beach." "Just ahead was the cliff with stone stairs to the right of us." "Directly in front of us was this cave." "Kayak suggested that we make some torches to explore the cave." "We found some pieces of drift wood and dry brush and used our fire flints to make a small fire." "We took two pieces of drift wood and lit the ends of them to make torches." "We entered the cave."

"It was very dark but our torches made adequate light." "We explored the cave and found an abandoned fire pit, clay jars, blackened banana peels and fish bones." "It appeared that someone had been here recently." "We found paintings on the wall." "They looked like the paintings that are on the walls of the cave in the Arawak village." "We found a path leading to the back of the cave and followed it." "The ceiling became very low at this point and we disturbed some bats that were hanging there." "They flew at us making their strange sounds." "We had to duck down until they were all gone." "The path came to an abrupt end."

"We turned around to walk back down." "That is when my son Pawin stepped in to a hole on the ground." "One of his legs went in to the hole up to his knee and he cried out." "I came to his aid pulling him up which made him scream louder." "His leg had been injured." "Kuruk and I moved him away from the hole and looked at his injured leg."

"His leg is broken; I will need to set it and make a splint", Kuruk said as he took one of the torches."

"He left the cave accompanied by Kayak to look for materials to make a splint." "At this point I heard sounds coming from the hole in the ground." "I kneeled over it and felt a sea breeze blowing on my face." "I looked in to the hole and was amazed to see a sea cave below." "There was a faint light coming from the opening." "I heard the sea tides washing in and out."

"Just then I heard men's voices." "I couldn't make out what they were saying." "I couldn't see them at first." "But then they moved in to my line of vision just below the hole." "That is when I heard the crying." "They had two women with them." "I strained my eyes to see better and recognized two women from the South village." "I could not remember their names; just their faces." "The men below were ugly and dark skinned, painted from head to foot with horrible red dye." "They had black oily hair that was long like a woman's hair. " "They wore loin cloths and carried long flat weapons with very sharp thin blades."

Goro interrupted, "They were Caribs."

Kumi said, "How do you know that?"

Goro answered, "Because the Caribs killed my people." "They are responsible for the destruction of my home."

Kumi continued, "Well, the women captives struggled to get free." "Their arms were bound with woven ropes." "The men were holding them and jabbering some sort of crude language." "I did not know what to do." "There was no way to get below to reach the women." "The dark men spoke in loud voices." "They seemed to be arguing." "Then they pulled the women out of my line of vision." "I listened for more sounds but could hear nothing." "I assumed that they must be leaving the cave below." "I thought, "We have to do something." "We couldn't stay here in this cave." "We must try to reach the women and free them!"

"Anoki was leaning over Pawin trying to comfort him." "Pawin was in pain and whimpering." "I knew that my son should not be left alone but I needed Anoki's help." "I pulled him away and told my son not to worry, that we would be back shortly."

"Pawin cried out, "Father please don't leave me here!"

"I hugged him and said, "It will be ok son." "Kuruk will be back soon to take care of you." "I don't want to leave you, but I must."

"I handed the torch to Pawin." "Anoki and I made our way in the dark and somehow managed to get out of the cave without injuring ourselves." "We saw the stone stairs to the left and began to climb them." "Kuruk and Kayak were just descending carrying wood and vines to make a splint." "I told Kuruk to go take care of Pawin." "I needed Kayak's help."

"What is going on now?", Kayak asked.

I replied, "I will tell you as we are climbing up." "Hurry now!"

"We climbed up to the top of the cliff." "In the near distance we saw an ugly stone idol." "We were able to see the sea below." "We saw the men in two canoes." "There were more of them than I knew." "I counted at least ten." "They had the women in one of the canoes and were paddling toward a distant stony beach to the East." "We watched them land on that beach." "We quickly descended from the cliff top reaching the entrance of the cave." "We headed in the direction of that beach." "We walked only a short distance when we saw the party of men and the women captives heading toward us." "We hid behind some tall rocks hoping that they had not seen us and waited for their approach." "We held our spears in readiness."

"We heard them coming close." "Just as they were passing by we jumped out at them." "There were too many of them." "They surpassed us in number and they carried those horrible sharp weapons." "It was foolish of us to surprise them like that." "We should have waited." "We fought with all of our skill." "But we were not successful." "We all fell with painful cuts from their weapons." "They did not understand us when we spoke." "I whispered at Anoki." "I told him to lay still and pretend to be dead." "Perhaps they would not kill us." "Kayak was injured badly and unconscious so he did not have to pretend."

"Their leader looked at the three of us laying still on the ground." "He motioned for the others to continue on." "They walked behind him to the stone steps pushing their captives in front of them." "They began to climb." "I lost sight of them as they climbed to the top." "Anoki and I got up and dragged Kayak to the mouth of the cave." "I called out for Kuruk." "He came out." "I told him that his father was badly injured." "We helped Kuruk carry his father inside of the cave."

As we did this he asked, "How did this happen?"

"I replied, "We were fighting some strange natives who have women captives." "They outnumbered us."

"Kuruk said, "Look at yourselves." "You are both bleeding." "You must stay here so that I can tend to you."

"I replied, "No not now." "I intend to follow those natives to the top of that cliff to see what they are doing."

Kuruk scolded me, "You are foolish." "They will kill you."

"That is a risk that I must take and I don't have time to explain further Kuruk!", I heatedly replied."

"Anoki and I climbed up the stone steps and soon reached the top." "We could see the party of natives in the near distance." "They surrounded the stone idol." "They had untied the women and were terrorizing them." "I could hear the women's shrill screams as they were manhandled." "There were several large rocks covered with vines a bit closer to the natives." "We ran to the rocks and hid behind them so that we could get a better look."

"The leader of the natives began to chant some sort of prayer."

"He grabbed one of the women and appeared to be embracing her." "But he had a knife in his hand and he slit her throat." "She lay like a rag doll over his arm quite dead."

"He held her over so that her blood dripped on the stone idol." "Then he picked her up and lay her on the altar."

"The other woman cried loudly in mourning and fear, "Oh no you have killed her." "Oh Lisha!" "Then she became very angry and cried out, "The Gods will punish you!"

"The native who held her captive slapped her face to shut her up. She cried all the louder."

"I had seen enough." "I told Anoki that we must attack immediately." "We had to save the other woman." "We knew that we would probably be killed trying." "But we could not just stand by and let another murder take place." "I screamed at the top of my lungs as we ran out in the open." "The natives saw us and came at us with murder in their eyes."

"Just then a large man ran past us." "I saw him out of the corner of my eye." "He ran swiftly and carried a large piece of wood." "He attacked the natives in the front line, bashing them over their heads." "They fell and did not get up." "He continued in a fury felling natives left and right." "He was very strong and easily overpowered them." "Anoki and I were fighting them as well." "We speared the men that the ragged man had clubbed to make sure that they were dead."

"The large ragged man killed every native that challenged him." "Finally there were only three remaining." "One of them was the leader." "He held the other woman by the waist." "She tried to get away but could not." "He held his knife to her throat as we approached." "We knew that he would kill her any minute."

"The ragged man circled the natives holding his club high." "The two remaining native soldiers rushed him but with fear on their faces." "He clubbed one of them who immediately fell down." "The other one sliced his arm with a sharp weapon." "I speared that man through the chest as he pulled back to thrust his weapon again." "He died as he fell." "This left only their evil leader." "He stood at the edge of the cliff holding that poor woman close to his painted body."

"She cried and pleaded, "Help me."

"He faced us with pure evil in his eyes." "He laughed and stuck the knife in to her throat before we could stop him." "She fell lifeless in his arms." "He threw her down like a dead fish." "As we rushed towards him he turned and jumped off the cliff yelling something intelligible." "We looked below and saw his broken body floating in the sea." "The ragged man was bleeding profusely from his cut arm." "He paid no attention to his wound." "He lifted each dead native, one by one, and threw them over the edge of the cliff." "When he was done he stood shaking from exhaustion and panting for breath." "He shook his head from side to side mumbling something."

"Anoki and I examined those poor dead women." "There was nothing that could be done for them except bury them to keep the sea birds from feeding on their bodies." "I felt so angry that I did not save them from their fate." "We found some sharp stones and began to dig graves for them, although we were tired and bleeding from injuries." "We dug one large shallow grave and lay the women in it side by side."

"In death they looked peaceful." "The one called Lisha had long brown hair. The other was blonde." Anoki said that her name was Nita." He remembered both of them from his former village." "Their throats still bled slightly." "We prayed for the Gods to receive them." "We asked the Gods for forgiveness at our inability to save them." "The ragged man helped us dig the graves." "He stood by audibly weeping while we said our prayers." "After we covered the bodies of the women with dirt the ragged man turned and left as quickly as he came." "We did not see him for two days."

"We descended to the cave below and went to tell Kuruk the bad news." "Kuruk was busy trying to doctor Pawin and his father." "We helped him as much as we could." "We moved Pawin and Kayak to the middle of the cave." "We built a fire in the abandoned pit nearby." "We took time to wash our injuries in the salt water of the bay." "We carried more water to Kuruk so that he could wash his father's wounds." "We watched over Pawin and Kayak while Kuruk went out to find herbs and mud to make a healing paste."

"Kuruk returned a short time later and put the paste on all of our wounds once the bleeding had stopped." "Kayak had a large deep cut in his head." "Luckily Kuruk carried a first aid kit in a pouch on his side at all times." "He had thread and a bone needle." "While his father was still unconscious he sewed the deep wound closed and covered it with paste and leaves." "He had set Pawin's broken leg earlier while we were fighting the natives and put a splint on it." "After all of our injuries had been tended he steeped a broth made from healing herbs." "We all drank some of it." "Kuruk gave some to his father who had awoken crying out in agony." " Afterward Kayak fell in to a deep sleep." "Night had fallen by this time." "We all had a drink of tepid water and fell in to a restless sleep."

"It was morning when I awoke." "I felt very ill." "Quite unlike myself." "As did Anoki." "Kuruk examined us." "We were suffering from fevers brought on from our wounds which had festered overnight." "Kuruk was frustrated." "He would have to make a new paste." "He left the cave to find the right ingredients." "We begged him to catch some fish as we were all hungry." "Except for Kayak who kept falling in and out of unconsciousness."

"Kuruk came back an hour later with more herbs, mud and some fish." "He cooked the fish and began to make the paste." "By noon we had all eaten except for Kayak who would not eat." "We drank tepid water again from our jugs." "I told the others that we would have to ration it." "Kuruk applied the fresh pot of paste to our injuries." "He made more of the healing herb broth and we all slept through the day." "We awoke just before dark to the smell of freshly roasted fish." "Kuruk had been fishing again."

"We ate the fish and lay around the fire talking quietly." "Kuruk gave us more of the healing broth and we again fell asleep." "We woke in the morning and he was gone." "He must have gone fishing again." "I crawled about and checked on the others." "I felt a bit better than the day before." "My wounds were very sore." "I had a slight fever." "Anoki's fever had returned." "He lay tossing and turning on his straw mat." "Kayak was still sleeping." "Pawin was awake." "He couldn't move because of his broken leg." "He sat by the fire with his back pressed against a large rock." "He told me that Kuruk had gone out to search for more healing plants and a certain root that was supposed to be very effective in the healing of fevers."

"Hours passed and Kuruk did not return." "I was worried." "I crept about and gave the others drinks of water." "There was nothing to eat." "I decided that I would have to try and go out to find where Kuruk had gone, or at least try and catch some fish."

"I took my spear and got unsteadily to my feet." "I felt dizzy but fought the feeling." "I left the cave and looked around." "I had no idea where Kuruk had gone or even where to begin looking for him." "I stood there unsteadily on my feet trying to think." "That is when I saw the ragged man wading to the shore." "He carried Kuruk on his back." "Kuruk's body was covered neck to feet with thick mud" "It was so thick that even the salt water of the bay had not washed it away." "Kuruk was unconscious." "What now?", I thought."


	6. Chapter 6

**The East Village Six (The rest of the sad tale by Ringo)**

I see the confusion on the frizzy blonde haired leader's face as I carry the young doctor in to the cave. I lay him down with the others near the fire. He has mud caked on his body from neck to feet. He is unconscious from exhaustion. He was lucky that I followed him in to the jungle today and watched him fall in to the deep pit of mud. If I had not been there the sink hole would have taken his life. I have known about that sink hole for many years. I almost stepped in to it one day. I caught myself just in time. I threw a heavy stone in there and watched it sink. I knew then that it was a deadly place.

As I enter the cave I see that these men are going to need help. The leader is too weak to take care of the others. His wounds are infected like the others. I see that the blonde boy's leg is broken. He will not be able to help the others. I do not like to be around these people for long. In the past I have avoided them and kept hidden. But I could not just stand by and let them be killed by those dark evil natives. What those natives did to the two women was horrible. They deserved to die.

I felt violent once before several years ago. That was when I lost my reason for a time after the death of my little boy Gin. I took two of those men captive for a time. They were sick. I wanted to help them yet I was afraid of them so I put them in a cage. I was afraid to care too much about them. I fed them and took care of them as best as I could. But I would not set them free. I meant to. But I did not. Then the others came with the red-haired leader. He was very brave. He fought me and knocked me out. I was astonished that any man could do that. I have always been very strong.

I was very sad when I woke up and found that they had locked me in my own cage. At first I thought that they had left me there to die. I considered just staying in there and letting death come. I could not. I wanted to live. So I escaped. I saw the red-haired man when he came back to my cave. He did not see me watching him and the other men who had come with him. He saw that I had escaped. I knew then that I would have to find another place to live for awhile. So I left my cave and traveled to the North side of the Island.

I never saw those dark painted natives before until two days ago. I hope that I have killed all of them. And that they will never return to this Island. They are not welcome here. If any more of them come here to perform their murderous rituals I will send them to meet their evil Gods immediately. It is getting harder and harder for me to stay in hiding. People are starting to explore the island. I must try and get to know these villagers. I must learn their language. I am tired of living alone all the time.

**Two weeks later:**

I have been taking care of these men. I have learned all of their names and they have learned mine. I am no longer afraid of them and I do not believe that they fear me. I have learned some of their words. Enough to communicate with them. They are curious about me and I have told them a little about my life. One thing that they do not know is my real age. I am keeping that a secret. I know that they do not live as long as my people did.

The young doctor Kuruk and I have become friends. He is grateful to me for saving his life. He has shared his knowledge of the healing arts with me. I have taught him how to make a healing ointment that I have always used for serious wounds. I used it on my wound and it is almost healed. Kuruk used it on the others and they are all beginning to heal.

I notice that they do not heal as quickly as me. I helped Kuruk find the roots and plants that he needed to make a healing tea to cure the fevers of the other men. I go fishing every day and provide fish for them. Soon I will have to get fresh water for them. I have not ventured too far from here. I decided to stay close by. I believe that they are glad for my help.

Their leader Kumi says that a search party should be coming soon for them. He expects two men. The other leader named Tanak and another man Malik. This will leave their women alone in that East village and unguarded. That is not a good thing. Tonight we sit by the fire. I have been sleeping in the cave with them. They do not seem to mind. Neither do I. I decide to tell them more about my people. I reveal that it is my people who built the East village. Where they have made their home. They are a bit surprised by this news.

They want to know about my first home. The other island far away. But I cannot remember much about it. I was too young when I left there with my parents. As I talk to them tonight I use words from my own language. They do not understand many of them. I do my best to explain. It is difficult. But I think they understand some things that I am trying to teach them.

In the morning I wake up before any of the others. I go out and catch fresh fish. I put the fish on the spit over the fire to cook. I shake Kuruk's shoulder. He wakes up. I tell him that I am going in to the jungle. He nods. I leave. I know of a secret spring that flows through the jungle. It is halfway between the North and the South. I will get some water there. I find the path that I cleared and make my way deep in to the jungle towards the South.

I travel about one hour when I hear the noise from above. There are men on top of the stone wall. They are headed to the North. I cannot see them. I can hear them talking. I am not certain who they are. Most likely they are the search party. I turn around and begin to walk as closely as I can along the side of the wall. The men above me keep stopping. They can hear me. One of them calls out to me.

For some reason I decide not to answer. I stay quiet and hidden. They start walking again and I go along with them. When they reach the end of the wall I reveal myself to them. That is when I see the red-haired one they call Elan. And the other brown haired one named Goro who I kept in my cage. They do not trust me and raise their spears.

I say to them "Follow me.". "Come."

I can see that they are shocked to hear me speak their words. Their leader has no hair on his head. This must be Tanak. He tells them that they must follow me. I lead them to the cave. I know that all will be well now.


End file.
